- Two men have been accused of fraud after a plot involving one of them claiming to be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto
- The allegations include false representations that the pretender, Stephen Mollah, owned 165,000 Bitcoins
- The pair have pleaded not guilty, with a trial scheduled for November 2025
Two British businessmen are facing fraud charges after one allegedly claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous figure behind the creation of Bitcoin, in order to carry it out. Stephen Mollah and Charles Anderson have been charged in a private prosecution by the victim, Dalmit Dohil, who claims that Mollah said he controlled 165,000 bitcoins stored in Singapore as part of the plan. This deception allegedly occurred between November 2022 and October 2023, potentially exposing Dohil to financial losses.
Mollah Pretended He Was Satoshi Nakamoto
Few details have been released due to the private nature of the case, but blockchain investigation company Blackdot Investigations offered an insight into the actions of the pair. Using its Videris software, the company was able to trace Mollah’s use of UK companies, calling him a “relatively prolific incorporator of companies.” It also found a number of articles online which suggested that Mollah was Satoshi Nakamoto, but found them unreliable:
However, the content and presentation of these articles suggests that this claim is a scam, and that by extension he is likely trying to scam others. Similarly, Mollah has attempted to register patents for Blockchain which appear to have been rejected.
During a hearing at Inner London Crown Court in August, Mollah and Anderson denied any wrongdoing, leading to the scheduling of their trial for November 2025. The court documents claim that the fraudulent representations could have caused substantial financial harm to Dohil, but it seems that he avoided this fate.
Parallels to Craig Wright
This case draws extraordinary parallels with previous high-profile fraud trials, such as the one involving Australian computer scientist Craig Wright. Wright also claimed to be Nakamoto, a claim he used to defraud his financial backer, Calvin Ayre, in 2015, using a Bitcoin wallet he claimed was being held in Singapore.
What’s more extraordinary is that the case was first published on the day that Wright sued Bitcoin developers and blockchain company Square for a trillion dollars, claiming that they were passing off BTC and his vehicle, Bitcoin Satoshi Vision.
